They Also Offered The Same Solution Back in the 1930’s

by Jim Morin, Miami Herald

Stop Enslaving Creation, and Other Notes and Thoughts From The Rocky Mountain Synod Theological Conference

During a discussion on youth and family ministry, one pastor stood up and quoted the Greek philosopher, Plutarch, who said that children were not to be considered as empty vessels needing to be filled up, but as candles that need help to find their fire.

The other notable news from today was the outstanding presentation by Larry Rasmussen on the need for radical behavioral change if we are to stem potentially catastrophic climate change.  As a Lutheran speaking to a group of Lutheran pastors, he came at the issue theologically and biblically after giving us a healthy dollop of science.  We Christians, he said, have to recover a healthy Creation theology that speaks to humans and God as not separate and against the natural world but as enmeshed in the natural order of Creation.

One key observation he made as he was summing up his lecture, was that we are in some sense, still involved in the business of slavery.  There must be a modern day abolition movement, he said, that calls people to realize the unethical, even immoral cultural understandings that allow humans to think and behave as if they are nature’s slavemasters.

I think there was enough creativity present in his audience to begin some of the creative work of recapturing these things through the liturgy, language, music, even calendar observances of the church.  One suggestion, which I’m considering for the Summer/Fall of ‘09 is adding Creation to the cycle of the church calendar as a bridge between Time After Pentecost and Advent.

Overall, this was a great time to gather with colleagues.  It can be a rather isolated existence being a solo pastor at a church.  These gatherings are always opportunities to connect with friends and to make some new acquaintances.  I was especially fortunate to room with a great guy who is the pastor of one of our flagship churches in Denver.  He is retiring this year after 40 years of ministry, still strong and still vibrant, and full of  some truly wonderful stories he has accumulated over the last 4 decades of being a parish pastor in Ohio, Texas, and Colorado.   To top it all off, he’s quite the humorist, which makes many of his stories hilarious.   But I think what makes him a truly good pastor is he is a genuinely decent guy.   Where I might look at someone’s behavior and judge it to be poor, he will find a way to characterize the person using the best possible framework.  He did that the other day and it reminded me of Martin Luther’s catechetical explanation of the Eighth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  Luther said that not only should we not slander people or defame their character, but we should also learn to speak well of people in ways that put their behavior in the best possible light.  I’ve never been really outstanding at this if I think someone is behaving badly.  But he is.  He has given me more good company over these last few days than I have had in the last few months.  In that respect alone, this conference has been a godsend.

Lutheran Bishops Report on Their Visit to the Holy Land

Bishops, their spouses and staff from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recently joined the Bishops, spouses and staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada in traveling to the Holy Land for a special version of the annual Bishops’ Academy.   The trip came during the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza and presented a potential danger to the group, whose intent was to hold this event as a way of expressing solidarity with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.  Upon their return, the Bishops issued a report, the full text of which can be found here.

They waded into the conflict as witnesses wanting to understand the forces at work to cause such violent suffering.  They also wanted to communicate the message of God’s desire that justice and peace encompass all people.

Here are some key excerpts of their report:

The violence that broke out in Gaza shortly before the trip raised concerns about safety, but after prayerful consideration and communication with people who live and work in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the trip continued as planned. Throughout our time in the Holy Land, the situation in Gaza was a dramatic backdrop to our travels and for our conversations with people from different faiths and viewpoints who endure fear and bear oppression in ways that we have never known.

The goals of this pilgrimage were: accompaniment, awareness, and advocacy. The trip was planned as a way to embody accompaniment of our Lutheran brothers and sisters in the ELCJHL, whose leader, Bishop Munib Younan, has been a tireless worker for peace in the Middle East. The awareness we sought was a fuller knowledge of the “facts on the ground”—the cruel details of the burden of occupation for the Palestinian people that go unreported in our countries and a deeper understanding of Israeli reactions to hateful rhetoric and killing rockets. Advocacy arises from awareness. We see the calling to advocate for justice and peace as being central in our Christian discipleship, so we sought to gain knowledge and strength for that ministry in relation to this particular setting.

There was darkness: the strangulation of occupation, the diminishing Christian population, the remembrance of the Holocaust, the fear of war. But we saw light: the contagious joy of Palestinian children at the School of Hope, the shared witness of an Israeli and a Palestinian who both lost loved ones and now work together to end the killing cycle of revenge, sharing Shabbat worship in synagogues where congregations prayed for peace in both Hebrew and Arabic, the powerful healing ministry of Augusta Victoria Hospital, the determined presence in Bethlehem and Jerusalem of Lutheran ministries that transform lives and keep hope alive. We tried to plant hope—with our presence, with new olive trees, with words of encouragement. As we traveled, we were greeted with hospitality beyond imagining from our brothers and sisters in faith.

The most precious living stones for us were the people of the congregations and ministries of the ELCJHL and LWF. We saw their faithful and remarkable witness in worship and in their commitment to be the body of Christ now in the places where he once taught and healed. Without discrimination, the ELCJHL welcomes all children into schools, providing excellent education and the spirit of dignity and bridge-building that respects all traditions. The International Center in Bethlehem has risen as a unique witness for support of the Palestinian people by programs that encourage peace and transform lives through art, cultural exchange, and all levels of education. The Abraham House in Beit Jala is a significant site for local and global interfaith dialogue. The living stones at Augusta Victoria Hospital, whose ministry of healing fills a crucial gap in medical services, as well as other projects of LWF, which maintain a strong Lutheran presence on the Mount of Olives and in the West Bank.

During our travels, we heard many variations of the words: “You came at just the right time to uphold our spirits,” and we were glad we came. In this kairos time together, God opened our hearts to one another. We began to understand more fully the details of the relentless persecution and cruel effect of the Israeli occupation of Palestine on the lives and spirits of the Palestinian people—the daily humiliations, separation from family, work, and medical care, and the endless frustration in seeking justice. It is impossible to comprehend the daily and increasing limitation of human rights without traveling here and talking with people about their experiences and hopes and fears.

But we also saw partnerships among Christians, Jews, and Muslims that offered hope that our shared Abrahamic tradition can lead to a shared land and a shared Jerusalem.

The awareness of the attacks on Gaza and the unimaginable suffering that they have caused was just beneath the surface of every encounter and every conversation. The strife continued throughout our journey and we heard new reports each day of death and destruction. We experienced a shift away from initial concern for our own safety toward a sharing of the despairing pain, hopelessness, and anger that Palestinians were feeling as they learned the details of the invasion, powerless to save or even comfort those hundreds of people who were killed and injured. We heard the anguish of the Chief Rabbis of Jerusalem who mourned the loss of life. We prayed for an end to the attacks from both sides. As we finished our journey, prayers for a cease-fire were answered, and a temporary unilateral truce was declared by Israel, and then joined by Hamas. We pray that negotiation can continue so that the attacks can be halted from both sides and humanitarian aid can be provided for those who are need food, medical attention, and housing.

“If you remove the yoke from among you
The pointing of the finger
The speaking of evil
If you offer your food to the hungry
And satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
Then your light shall rise in the darkness
And your gloom be like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58: 9a.-10)

Barack Obama, The Prophet Isaiah, King Cyrus, and Paul Tillich

Now that would be a panel discussion, wouldn’t it?  Actually, a day or so after Obama’s inauguration, I encountered a passage from the Biblical prophet Isaiah, and also a commentary on the passage from Paul Tillich.  Isaiah’s language of restoration for Israel is connected to Cyrus, the Persian king who made it possible for the Babylonian exiles to return and to rebuild Jerusalem.  Isaiah saw Cyrus as divinely appointed by God to do the work of liberation and renewal, even though Cyrus was a pagan (Always good to remember that people like Cyrus and their religions were more the mainstream, and people like the Jews with their religion were a minority subset of the Mediterranean world).

So what, pray tell, does any of this have to do with Barack Obama’s inauguration?  Fear not, I am not suggesting that his presidential inaugural was some sort of divine appointment.  But to see over 2 million people gathered in the Washington Mall as witnesses, then to learn that so many of them had traveled from different parts of the world, suggested that there was perhaps a significant cultural shift underway, under-girded by a tremendous sense of hope.  Then I read Isaiah, which spoke of a significant cultural change also under-girded by great hope and focused on the actions of the recently annointed Persian king, Cyrus.  Then I read Paul Tillich’s take on Isaiah and was pretty much blown away.  So I thought it would be worthwhile to set all these things down where each could converse in some way with the others.  Let’s start with this photo that says so much about January 20th, 2009:

Now let’s hear from the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 44:24 through 45:7

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth;
²⁵who frustrates the omens of liars,
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns back the wise,
and makes their knowledge foolish;
²⁶who confirms the word of his servant,
and fulfils the prediction of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited’,
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
²⁷who says to the deep, ‘Be dry—
I will dry up your rivers’;
²⁸who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose’;
and who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be rebuilt’,
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’

45Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:
²I will go before you
and level the mountains,^*
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
³I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know me.
⁵I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
⁶so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.

Okay, still with us?  Now, let’s hear from Paul Tillich, one of the most significant Christian theologians of the 20th century, as he writes about this passage in Christianity and Crisis, circa 1944:

There are two great figures in the teachings of this prophet (Isaiah).  The first is Cyrus, the Founder of the Persian Empire, the greatest historical personage of his time, whom our prophet speaks of as the “shepherd” of God, as “the anointed” and as the man of God’s counsel; the other is the “servant  of Jahweh” (whoever he may be in flesh and blood), who symbolizes the saving power of innocent suffering and death.  According to hte prophetic teaching the glorious founder of an empire is ultimately the servant of the servant of Jahweh.  He liberates the remnant of Israel from which the suffering servant arises.

Is not this conception the solution of the question of the meaning of history today?  It is the only solution which I can see.  There are two forces in our shattered world today. The one is the force of those who are similar to the suffering servant of God. We do not know where they are, as we do not know who prompted the servant-vision of the prophet.  But we know that they exist, invisibly, in all countries.  We do not know what they will make of the future.  But we know that their suffering will not be in vain.  They are the hidden tools of the God of history; the aged and the infants, the women and the young men, the persecuted and imprisoned, all those who are innocently sacrificed for the future, to be one small stone in the building of the divine Kingdom, of which the Perfect Servant of God is the corner stone.  And there is another force in our world, the force of those who are like unto Cyrus, the rulers of empires with all the greatness and shame of every empire (the rulers of America, Great Britain and Russia). They are the men of God’s counsel, because they carry through his purposes in the service of the suffering servants of God.  But they are as ignorant of God’s counsel as Cyrus was. They do not know the future consequences of their policies.  If we look to them in our attempt to know the future we will also remain ignorant.  But if we look at the true servants and the true God whom they serve, the God of history, we will know!  Cyrus is in the service of the servant of Jahweh. This is the solution of the riddle of history, including the history of our epoch.

The emhases in Tillich’s commentary are mine, since they are the passages that jumped off the page at me.

Well, if you’ve made it this far along, I invite you to let these things percolate a bit with you and see what you think.

Sunday Nite Odds ‘N’ Ends: Stupid Cat Tricks

Okay, actually a lot of them aren’t so stupid.

Friday Nite Apocalypse Video

Apocalypse at it’s truest Greek root understanding means a revealing, or lifting of the veil.  Part of the Biblical understanding of Apocalypse is revealing not only God, but what God wants.  It’s in that sense that we have here a modern apocalyptic video:

If only Pajamas Media had sent this guy and his animal friends to Gaza instead of this guy.

An appropriate Apocalyptic Biblical Passage: Isaiah 11:6-9:

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
⁷The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
⁹They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

A Tip of the Hat to an OK Friend

Well, Well, Well…..Who’d A Thunk It? Part 2

From McClatchy:

WASHINGTON — The top Marine commander said Friday that his forces already had begun pulling equipment out of Iraq and that nearly all of his troops could be out in as little as six months.

“The time is right for the Marines to leave Iraq,” Gen. James Conway, the commandant of the Marine Corps, said at a breakfast with reporters. Any “sustainment force” in Iraq, he added, will be almost exclusively from the Army.

By the way, McClatchy was about the only major news outlet that did not climb on board the “Let’s Invade Iraq Before They Kill Us” bandwagon.  Through some diligent reporting they actually provided hard news and information that contradicted the Bush Administration’s claims regarding the imminent threat of Saddam and those now-legendary Weapons of Mass Destruction, which have taken their rightful place among other legends like Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, and the “Gol-darned Librul Media.”

As I think on it, my apologies to Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster for drawing them into such an unsavory comparison.

As for the “Gol-darned Librul Media,” it is not so much the liberalism as it is the whoredom.   Except for McCatchy.  And Frank Rich.  And Sy Hersch.  You all are patriots.  You stood your watch while people like “Stretch” Gregory showed off their fancy dance moves with their friends.

Well, Well, Well…..Who’d A Thunk It?

Robert A. Reid of the Associated Press reports that Iraq is ready for an early U.S. troop withdrawal and is already preparing for a U.S. withdrawal in advance of the one worked out by the Bush Administration to occur at the end of 2011.

The government-owned newspaper Al-Sabah reported Wednesday that Iraqi authorities have drafted contingency plans in case Obama orders a “sudden” withdrawal of all forces and not just combat troops.

(A Spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Minister, Ali al-Dabbagh)  told Associated Press Television News that Iraqis had been worried about a quick U.S. departure.

But with the emphasis on a responsible withdrawal, al-Dabbagh said the Iraqi government was willing for the U.S. to leave “even before the end of 2011.” The Bush administration agreed in a security agreement signed in November to remove all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.

Did You Know it Was St. Vincent’s Day?

I didn’t.  Thank goodness for the Old Farmer’s Almanac:

St. Vincent’s Day, January 22, brings this cheerful advice:

Remember on St. Vincent’s Day,
If that the Sun his beams display,
Be sure to mark the transient beam—
Which through the casement sheds a gleam;
For ’tis a token bright and clear
Of prosperous weather all the year.

St. Vincent’s Day is heralded for its weather lore. A sunny day signifies “more wine than water” and means that the sap might begin to rise. Frost on that day presages a delayed crop. May today bring sunbeams bright and clear, if the prosperity only follows!

Oh, yeah, and only 57 days ’till Spring!

Unusual English Textbooks Have Japanese Learning English

From Reuters:

President-elect Barack Obama’s speeches are proving a best-seller in Japan — as an aid to learning English.

An English-language textbook, “The Speeches of Barack Obama,” has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months, a big hit in a country where few hit novels sell more than a million copies a year.

Japanese have a fervor for learning English and many bookstores have a corner dedicated to dozens of journals in the language, many of them now featuring the new U.S. leader’s face.

“Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English, because their contents are good and their words are easy to catch,” said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.

“Obama’s is especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as ‘yes, we can,’ ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that even Japanese people can memorize,” he said.

Speeches by President George W. Bush and former nominee John Kerry’s four years ago did not have the same appeal, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians, Yamamoto said.

“In Japan, we don’t have politicians who have such a positive influence. That’s why we have to turn to a foreign president for someone in whom to place our hopes.”